Manitoba celebrated Culture Days over the weekend, and my class was assigned to check out a few of the events and performances happening around Winnipeg. Reading through a booklet listing all the events, I saw that a Manitoba Honey Days booth would be set up at The Forks on Saturday. Hell yes.

Manitoba Honey Days at The Forks Market, Sept. 26, 2015.

As part of my Greener Alternatives blog series, I have been planning to tackle a few DIY beauty and hygiene recipes. During my research, I noticed that beeswax is a popular ingredient in many different homemade products. Manitoba Honey Days was the perfect opportunity for me to get my hands on some locally produced beeswax.

I paid $7 for the brick of beeswax pictured above, which is a lot less than I expected to pay, and will last me through countless DIY projects.

Why beeswax though?

Beeswax is a natural byproduct produced by bees, which they use to form and seal their honeycombs. During honey harvest, beekeepers slice off the wax layer to get to the honey, and that wax is then cleaned and melted into forms.

It’s easy to see why beeswax is a better choice when contrasting it to paraffin wax, a popular choice in candle production. Paraffin wax is a commonly used ingredient in candles because it’s a product of crude oil, which is cheaper to produce and heavily abundant, thanks the world’s dependence on oil. Beeswax candles also burn significantly longer than their paraffin counterparts.

I purchased two lovely beeswax candles at Manitoba Honey Days, so I won’t be diving into candle making just yet. I plan to make homemade beauty and hygiene products, including deodorant, lip balm, and lotion.

Be sure to subscribe to see what this wax turns into as the year goes on!

2 Responses to The Buzz About Beeswax

I look forward to your research. Your post on 5 minute showers really made me look at my water usage. Still looking for a good 5 min song, but two 4 min songs are better than running the water until it’s cold. (20 mins-I’m embarrassed). I have shaved 12 mins off my 5:20am shower! And winter is on it’s way so I’m okay with Wookie hair!